News

Sunbury, Pa. -- Weis Markets announced it would invest $135 million in its 2013 capital expenditure program, an 8% increase compared to the year prior.
   
“To position our company for continued growth, we have made record investments in our store base,” and vice chairman Jonathan H. Weis, at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. “Look for more of the same in 2013 when we increase our Cap Ex investment to $135 million – an 8% increase compared to 2012 – and a 33% increase compared to 2011.”

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Company reported that its second-quarter profit rose 26% to $390.4 million, up from $309.9 million last year, amid sales increases in the Americas and Asia regions.
     
Total net revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, rose 11% to $3.56 billion, not quite the $3.58 billion Wall Street expected.  Global same-store store sales grew 6%, driven by a 4% increase in traffic and a 2% increase in average ticket, marking the 13th consecutive quarter of global comp growth greater than 5%.
 

New York -- Chain Store Age is pleased to announce that Dan Berthiaume has joined the staff as senior editor, technology.  

Berthiaume, who started covering retail technology in 1998, brings a wealth of experience to his new position. He served as corporate content manager of Retail Systems AlertGroup from 1998 to 2006, writing and editing the company's retail tech publications and overseeing its website, and then moved on to a successful freelance career, reporting on technology for a variety of print and online publications.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway Inc. on Thursday said it earned $118.9 million, in the first quarter ended March 23, up from $72.9 million a year earlier, helped by tax benefits. The company maintained its forecast for the year.

Net sales inched down to $9.99 billion, from $10 billion a year ago, as the company sold its Genuardi’s division. Same-store sales rose 1.5%.

New York -- The CEO of Best Buy, Hubert Joly, earned compensation worth $19.6 million in his five months on the job in 2012, the Associated Press reported.  

Joly, a turnaround expert, took the reins of the chain in September. Former CEO Brian Dunn left in April when a board investigation found that Dunn violated company policy by having a "close personal relationship" with a female staffer. Board member Mike Mikan, one of Best Buy’s board members, served as temporary CEO before Joly was hired.

Residents of tony Hilton Head Island, S.C., are getting the one thing they don’t currently have: a Kroger Marketplace, situated in the sprawling 42-acre mixed-use project under development by Kroger Real Estate and Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial.

PALM BEACH, Fla. — The NACDS Annual Meeting concluded with the board of directors dinner and the annual presentation of the industry’s lifetime achievement awards.

Renamed the Sheldon W. Fantle Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 in honor of People’s Drug Stores’ Bud Fantle, the award was originally established in 1989 to recognize exceptional accomplishments and contributions to the industry.

Receiving the award this year were Bob Loeffler, former CEO of H-E-B and past NACDS chairman, and Chain Drug Review editor David Pinto.

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu reported sales of $3.89 billion and a loss of $1.41 billion in fourth quarter 2013, compared with sales of $3.98 billion and a loss of $424 million in fourth quarter 2012.

For the fiscal year, sales were $17.1 billion, compared with $17.3 billion in fiscal year 2012, while the company incurred a loss of $1.46 billion, compared with a $1.04 billion loss the year before.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General will benefit a nonprofit outreach program focused on blood clots, the discount store chain said.

Dollar General announced it would match the $2,000 donation that NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Brian Vickers made to Clot Connect. Vickers was diagnosed in early 2010 with blood clots that forced him to miss the remainder of the season and worked with University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill physicians and Clot Connect to make informed decisions on his healthcare.

New Britain, Conn.-based Stanley Black & Decker saw revenues grow, largely as the result of acquisitions.

The company reported first-quarter revenues of $2.49 billion, an increase of 3% over the prior-year period. Volume and currency each declined approximately 1%, while acquisitions added 4% to that total. 

Net earnings declined to $81.1 million for the quarter, compared with $121.8 million in the same quarter last year.